Author: Holly Black
Series: Curse Workers, #1
Pages: 310
Challenge: Goodreads Challenge 2014
Genre: Paranormal
Acquired: Bought
Rating: ★★★½
*****
Goodreads Summary:
Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn't fit in at home or at school, so he's used to feeling like an outsider. He's also used to feeling guilty; he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas and a plan to con the conmen.
*****
My Thoughts:
Cassel Sharpe is the black sheep in his family of curse workers. His family can influence people's emotions, luck, dreams, and more just by the touch of a bare hand. To top it all off, Cassel killed his best friend, Lila. Now he must uncover the secrets behind her death as well as secrets within his own mysterious family.Overall I liked Cassel's character well enough. I didn't really connect with any of the characters or their stories and backgrounds. I did like the mystery surrounding Lila's character and Cassel's brothers.
My favorite scenes were when I was able to learn more about curse work and its different types. I liked finding out why Cassel was the black sheep of his family as well as the secrets behind why he felt this way the most. I disliked the incorporation of Cassel's friends from school and their roles in the story. I felt that they weren't necessary enough to the plot to really be woven into the story like they were. I also disliked that some scenes in the book were over-explained/ or explained too thoroughly, and then some other scenes that required more detail were short and brushed over too quickly.
I really wanted to like this story more than I did because of how interesting I found the overall concept of this book.... but unfortunately we win some and we lose some. :( I did like the story, but I wasn't excited or blown away by the events in the book. I was an overall Meh read for me.
The ending was interesting, but I'm definitely not itching to get my hands on the next book right away.
Cover: 4/10. It does go with the story line, but its not amazing.
Rating: 3.5/5. It was an okay read.
I would recommend to those looking for a quick, mysterious paranormal novel with a little over 300 pages. So if you are looking for a shorter read to read in-between 2 big books this could work for you!
If you have read this book, let me know your thoughts below!!
*****
